Book Reports

I finally got the 2 books I was waiting for at the library, and read them both in a total of 4 days. They aren't very long and since I was interested in the subject matter, they were both fast reads. I decided to do a "book report" on them both here for any interested parties. First let me say I would recommend both of them to anyone who has or is planning to have children. OK, on with the reports...

"What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Children's Vaccinations" by Stephanie Cave, MD, was a fascinating read. Although it was outdated, being last revised in 2000, it still had very interesting information about how vaccines are manufactured and what's in them. One could basically skip over the parts about vaccines that we no longer use in America, but I still found it interesting to read these parts, just to find out why we stopped using them. I would say this book is a little more anti-vaccine than the second book I will review. There were some very scary points brought up in the book, but some of it was theoretical and not proven, but of course that still doesn't mean it's not possible. I don't want to give away all the details of the book, because I do think you should go out and read it for yourself. I will say one thing that thoroughly disgusted me was the fact that some vaccines are made using cells from aborted fetuses. So I realized there are many reasons why parents may choose not to vaccinate their children - moral, ethical, and religious reasons being part of them.

For some, Dr Cave's book may "scare" you into wanting to skip vaccinations. However, you must remember that a lot of the scary things are related to vaccines that we no longer use. It does make me wonder though, what could possibly be wrong with the vaccines we use today that no one knows about yet?

The second book, "The Vaccine Book" by Dr Robert Sears, was a very balanced book with pros and cons not only about types of vaccines, but also about specific brands of the same vaccine. While this information is certainly interesting, I do wonder that it would be very useful, in a practical sense, because I don't think pediatricians will let you pick which brand of which vaccine you want to use. However, maybe if you know they use a brand of something which has a lot of controversial ingredients, you may consider switching doctors or at least having the vaccines administered one by one so your baby isn't inundated with so many foreign substances all at once (with the numerous shots they like to give in one visit). I think Dr Sears' book is definitely worth having in the household library as a reference book. Also, he is publishing updates on his website, www.thevaccinebook.com. He has a blog format and is even personally responding to readers' comments!

Besides the great info on the vaccines themselves, Dr Sears also has listed some of the reasons parents in his own practice choose not to get particular vaccines, and of course the reasons one would want to get the vaccines. Then towards the end of the book, he gives very nice alternative vaccination schedules. One very selective schedule which he recommends to parents who would otherwise choose no vaccines at all, and one schedule which has all of the government-recommended childhood immunizations but a different timeline for getting them.

All in all, both books are good reads, but I plan on buying (or perhaps some kind person will get me for Christmas) The Vaccine Book. Because it is so current and because I believe I will reference it again each time Laina is supposed to get vaccinations. I still haven't fully decided what I think is best for the rest of her shots. Jay is reading The Vaccine Book now, so he can be an active parent, too, and we can decide and pray together about the choices we are fortunate enough to be able to make for our daughter. I believe I said before, I do want to protect Laina from serious diseases, but I want to do it in the safest manner possible. If that means spreading vaccines out and paying more co-pays in order to do it, that's fine with me (I think I'm leaning towards that idea). We also need to talk to Laina's doctor and see if some of the possible changes to the scheduling are doable with them.

So again, if you are a parent or especially if you are going to become a parent, I urge you to educate yourself on vaccines. I would recommend first The Vaccine Book, because it's current and balanced. Then if you want to be a little more scared and grossed out, Dr Cave's book. But then go back and read Dr Sears' book again, just so you stay balanced. I really regret not doing this research before Laina was born, because I would have done things a little differently with her newborn vaccinations, mostly the timing. I also recommend books over internet research, because at least for me, I got only pieces and parts online, and the books provide a nice, whole, cohesive picture.